Understanding the difference between single pitch climbing and multi-pitch climbing will help you to understand how to pack for each. A “pitch” of climbing describes how long a climb will be and can be as short as a few meters long or as long as 60 meters long. It all depends on the climb and how it’s broken up in terms of pitches. Every guidebook or route on Mountain Project will say the length of the climb. Climbs under 30-35 meters will, for the most part, be a single pitch climb. Once the route gets more than 1 pitch of climbing it is now described as a multi-pitch climb.

Single pitch climbs are 1 pitch of climbing and can only be as long as half the size of your rope. For example, if I have a 60 meter rope, the longest single pitch I can climb is 30 meters because I have to get lowered back to the ground from the anchor. If I have a 70 meter rope, I can do a single pitch of climbing up to 35 meters in length. Single pitch climbing can sometimes be described as “cragging” because you will stay at the base of the climb and have more things and can have more people to hang out or “crag” with. Once we start multi-pitch climbing, it’s wise to stick to parties of 2-3 people. If you have 4 people, I’d suggest breaking into 2 parties of 2.

Multi-pitch climbing is how we split a climb up to get to the top of the climb or cliff. This type of climbing helps improve rope drag, communication, and just overall the best way to climb up a bigger cliff. With multi-pitch climbing, we caterpillar up the cliff. For example, I would climb up to the first belay, build an anchor, and then bring my belayer to me. We would then repeat the process of getting back on belay, climbing to the next anchor, bringing my belayer to me and continue this process till we’re at the top of the climb or top of the cliff.

How to pack for a multi-pitch climb:

Whenever I multi-pitch climb, I like to carry a 15-20 Liter climbing bag with me and have the essentials packed. Understanding that I have to carry everything up the climb will help me be very specific with the things I bring and to be cautious of weight. Some things depend on weather, length of the climb, and if I will be going up and over, or if I’m rappelling back to the ground.

I like to bring:

• InReach or some sort of satellite device for emergencies

• Med-kit and a SAM splint

• Wag Bag (poop bag), hand sanitizer, tape, extra contacts, and a ski strap all in a small bag

• Water (at least 1 liter, depending on length of the climb sometimes can be 2-3 liters)

• Food (enough to suffice for the length of the climb)

• Extra Layer (Depending on the weather but usually a rain jacket, a small puffy, sun hoody, or a wind layer)

• Hiking shoes or approach shoes (If I have to hike off, definitely will have my shoes. If I’m rappelling, sometimes I’ll bring them and other times I won’t. Depends on length of the climb. More than 3 rappels, I’ll have my shoes. I like being comfortable on the descent.)

This is typically what’s in my bag for multi-pitch climbing and sometimes gets tweaked with the objective. I like bringing these things with me to stack the cards in my favor so to speak in case of emergencies.

Reach out if you have any questions or want to learn best practices with multi-pitch climbing!

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend and thank you for reading!

-John